Mark Spencer denied Nusrat Ghani's accusations, and accused her of defamation.
by Henry Goodwin
2022-01-23
Mark Spencer, the chief whip, has admitted a Tory MP was referring to him when she accused a member of government of telling her she had been sacked from a ministerial job because her Muslim faith was “making colleagues uncomfortable”.
Nusrat Ghani said when she lost her job as a transport minister in 2020, a Government whip told her “Muslimness” had been raised as an issue at a Downing Street meeting to discuss the reshuffle.
Her explosive claim in an interview with The Sunday Times brought immediate condemnation from Conservative MPs and opposition parties alike, with demands for an inquiry.
Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi said there was no place for Islamophobia or any form of racism in the party, and that her allegations must be “investigated properly and racism routed out”.
‘Defamatory’
But in a dramatic move, chief whip Mark Spencer said that he was the individual who spoke to Ms Ghani – although he strongly denied using the words claimed.
“To ensure other Whips are not drawn into this matter, I am identifying myself as the person Nusrat Ghani MP has made claims about this evening,” he said in a statement posted on Twitter.
“These accusations are completely false and I consider them to be defamatory. I have never used those words attributed to me.”
The row erupted at the start of a crucial week for Mr Johnson, with Sue Gray, the senior civil servant investigating lockdown parties in Downing Street, expected to deliver her report.
The conduct of the whips’ office has come under intense scrutiny following claims that tactics amounting to blackmail were used to pressurise Tory MPs seeking to oust the Prime Minister.
In her interview, Ms Ghani, the MP for Wealden, said she was shocked when the issue of her background and faith was raised during a meeting in the whips’ office after the mini-reshuffle in February 2020.
“It was like being punched in the stomach. I felt humiliated and powerless,” she told the paper.
“I was told that at the reshuffle meeting in Downing Street that ‘Muslimness’ was raised as an ‘issue’, that my ‘Muslim women minister’ status was making colleagues uncomfortable and that there were concerns ‘that I wasn’t loyal to the party as I didn’t do enough to defend the party against Islamophobia allegations’.
“It was very clear to me that the whips and No 10 were holding me to a higher threshold of loyalty than others because of my background and faith.
“In the following weeks, I was informed that if I persisted in raising this that I would be ostracised by colleagues and my career and reputation would be destroyed.”
Mr Zahawi said said it was essential that Ms Ghani’s claims were now properly addressed by the party.
“There is no place for Islamophobia or any form of racism in our Conservative Party,” he tweeted.
“Nus Ghani is a friend, a colleague and a brilliant parliamentarian. This has to be investigated properly and racism routed out. #standwithNus.”
The senior Tory who first raised the issue of the conduct of the whips office, William Wragg – the chairman of the Commons Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee – also voiced his support for Ms Ghani.
“Nus is very brave to speak out. I was truly appalled to learn of her experience. She shows such strength and integrity supporting others,” he tweeted.
‘Rotten culture’
Labour Party chair Anneliese Dodds said there was a “rotten culture” at the hear of government and that Mr Johnson and Tory chairman Oliver Dowden must launch an urgent investigation into Ms Ghani’s allegations.
“This is just the latest allegation in a long list of appalling behaviour at the centre of government that the Prime Minister appears willing to overlook,” she said.
“This rotten culture starts at the top – the lack of respect in No 10 is embarrassing our country and letting people down.”
A spokesman on behalf of the whips office said: “These claims are categorically untrue. Ministerial roles are appointed on merit and rewards for hard work.
“The Conservative Party does not tolerate any form of racism or discrimination.”
Related: Nusrat Ghani: ‘I was sacked because of my Muslimness’
Boris Johnson pressed to launch probe after Tory MP Nusrat Ghani’s Islamophobia allegations
Several Tory MPs have called on the Prime Minister to set up an urgent inquiry into the allegations
Boris Johnson has come under pressure to launch a formal investigation into Tory MP Nusrat Ghani’s claims she was sacked from her ministerial post because her Muslim faith was “making colleagues uncomfortable”.
She claims her faith was raised as a reason for why she was sacked as a transport minister in 2020 in a conversation with an unnamed Government whip. Chief whip Mark Spencer has since named himself as the whip in question, describing the claims as false and defamatory.
Several Tory MPs, including the Education Secretary, have condemned the allegations and called for No 10 to launch a probe.
Nadhim Zahawi wrote on Twitter: “There is no place for Islamophobia or any form of racism in our Conservative party. Nus Ghani is a friend, a colleague & a brilliant parliamentarian. This has to be investigated properly & racism routed out. #standwithNus.”
Mark Harper, Tory MP for the Forest of Dean, called on the Prime Minister to set up an urgent inquiry, and said: “There is no place for prejudice in 10 Downing Street.”
Others have also spoken out, with influential backbencher Steve Baker among those objecting to the MP’s treayment.
He said: “That Nus could be treated like this is completely intolerable. I value Nus Ghani as a great colleague and I’m appalled. We must get to the bottom of it.”
Tom Tugendhat, chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee, said the report “demands an inquiry” and reiterated the comments of other Tory MPs that racism has no place within the party.
A Downing Street statement on Sunday said: “After being made aware of these extremely serious claims, the PM met with Nusrat Ghani to discuss them. He then wrote to her expressing his serious concern and inviting her to begin a formal complaint process. She did not subsequently do so.
“The Conservative Party does not tolerate prejudice or discrimination of any kind.”
Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab has said there will be no “specific investigation” unless Ms Ghani submitted a formal complaint.
He told Sky News that the allegation is “incredibly serious”, adding that the Government has “absolutely zero tolerance for any discrimination of Islamophobia in the Conservative Party”.
But Mr Raab suggested it was up to Ms Ghani to make a formal complaint.
“He (Mr Spencer) has categorically denied it in what can only be described as the most forthright and robust terms indeed,” Mr Raab told Sky News’s Trevor Phillips On Sunday programme.
“If there are any claims like this they should result in a formal complaint which allows a formal investigation to take place.
“As the chief whip has pointed out, Nus hasn’t made a formal complaint. She was asked to do so. In the absence of doing so there will be no specific investigation into this.”
Ms Ghani revealed the allegations in an interview with the Sunday Times, where she claims her faith was raised as a reason for why she was sacked as a transport minister in 2020.
She said when she lost her job, a Government whip told her “Muslimness” had been raised as an issue at a Downing Street meeting to discuss the reshuffle.
“I was told that at the reshuffle meeting in Downing Street that ‘Muslimness’ was raised as an ‘issue’, that my ‘Muslim women minister’ status was making colleagues uncomfortable and that there were concerns ‘that I wasn’t loyal to the party as I didn’t do enough to defend the party against Islamophobia allegations’,” she said.
Ms Ghani added: “It was very clear to me that the whips and No 10 were holding me to a higher threshold of loyalty than others because of my background and faith.”
The article did not name the Government whip, but Mr Spencer later identified himself on Twitter but strongly denied the allegations.
“To ensure other whips are not drawn into this matter, I am identifying myself as the person Nusrat Ghani MP has made claims about this evening,” he said.
“These accusations are completely false and I consider them to be defamatory. I have never used those words attributed to me.
“It is disappointing that when this issue was raised before Ms Ghani declined to refer the matter to the Conservative Party for a formal investigation.”
He added: “These claims relate to a meeting in March 2020. When Ms Ghani raised them she was invited to use the formal CCHQ complaints procedure. She declined to do so.”
The Prime Minister’s spokesman said Mr Johnson was first alerted to the allegations in 2020 and held a meeting with the MP.
A No 10 spokesperson said: “After being made aware of these extremely serious claims, the Prime Minister met with Nusrat Ghani to discuss them. He then wrote to her expressing his serious concern and inviting her to begin a formal complaint process. She did not subsequently do so. The Conservative Party does not tolerate prejudice or discrimination of any kind.”
How Boris Johnson was forced to order an inquiry into alleged Tory Islamophobia after Nusrat Ghani’s claims
Nusrat Ghani’s claims that she was told be a Government whip she lost her job as transport minister due to her “Muslimness” will be investigated by the Cabinet Office.
Facing the prospect of being dragged into a fresh Islamophobia row amid an already make-or-break week, Boris Johnson on Monday morning decided to pull the trigger on a fresh investigation into incendiary allegations by Conservative ex-minister Nusrat Ghani.
What did Ms Ghani claim?
In an interview with the Sunday Times published late on Saturday night, the Wealden MP said she was told by a Government whip that she was sacked from her job as transport minister in February 2020 as her “Muslimnesss” made colleagues “uncomfortable”.
How did it become a row?
Very soon after the story was published, Chief Whip Mark Spencer dramatically outed himself as the whip in question and strenuously deny Ms Ghani’s claims as “completely false” and “defamatory” in tweets that were deleted, edited then reposted.
Ms Spencer also said Ms Ghani had raised the comments before and was invited to use the formal Conservative complaints procedure and declined in 2020.
However, two Cabinet ministers – Nadhim Zahawi and Sajid Javid – said the serious allegations needed to be investigated.
Several senior Conservatives including Jeremy Hunt, Tom Tugendhat and Steve Baker also called for an investigation.
But the Government maintained it could not carry out a probe and again invited Ms Ghani to use the Tory complaints procedure.
So did she?
No, instead Ms Ghani hit back, saying that after she spoke to Mr Johnson about what had happened in summer 2020, he wrote to her to say he “could not get involved” and also urged her to use the formal Tory complaints procedure.
But the MP, who had already revealed that she was warned at the time her career would be “destroyed” if she tried to complain, said a party process was “very clearly not appropriate for something that happened on Government business”.
“All I have ever wanted was for his Government to take this seriously, investigate properly and ensure no other colleague has to endure this,” she said.
That left Mr Johnson, whose premiership is hanging by a thread, with few options other than to order a Cabinet Office investigation, particularly when his Government is already facing claims of blackmail and intimidation of MPs to support him.
What does she say now?
Nusrat Ghani said she welcomed the Prime Minister’s decision to order an investigation.
“As I said to the Prime Minister last night, all I want is for this to be taken seriously and for him to investigate.
I welcome his decision to do that now, ” she said.
“The terms of reference for the inquiry must include all that was said in Downing Street and by the whip.
“I look forward to seeing the terms of reference.”
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